NAGS HEAD, N.C. (AP) - A couple whose North Carolina vacation home burned down have filed a federal lawsuit saying the state Coastal Resources Commission won’t let them rebuild.
News outlets report this week that the Nags Head house Cathy and Michael Zito bought was destroyed by a 2016 fire. They say the local fire chief called to tell them there was nothing left.
An investigation ruled the fire’s cause as “inconclusive.” The blaze happened during the end of Hurricane Matthew and the call came moments after electricity was restored.
The commission denied their rebuilding permit because the area was deemed a beach erosion and flood damage environmental hazard in 2011.
Glenn Roper, the Zitos’ pro bono lawyer with Pacific Legal Foundation, says the government must compensate them if they can’t rebuild. They still pay the mortgage and taxes.
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